Controlled substance misuse prevention

ABSTRACT

Systems and methods are described herein for determining a therapeutic use date after which consumption of a prescribed medication by a legitimately prescribed individual will provide little to no legitimate therapeutic value to the individual. By determining the therapeutic use date and then marking each unit of the individual&#39;s prescription with an indication of the therapeutic use date, the systems and methods described herein aid in the regulation or removal of unused controlled substances from the individual after the therapeutic use date.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent ApplicationNo. 62/755,536, filed Nov. 4, 2018, entitled “Controlled SubstanceMisuse Prevention Device and Method,” which is hereby incorporated byreference herein in its entirety.

FIELD

The present disclosure relates to combating the prescription drugoverdose epidemic, and more specifically is related to associating unitsof medication with a date by which consumption of the medication by anindividual will have little to no legitimate therapeutic value to theindividual.

BACKGROUND

The misuse of and addiction to prescription drugs—including prescriptionopioids, central nervous system depressants, and stimulants—is a seriousnational crisis that affects public health as well as social andeconomic welfare. Although most people may take prescription medicationsresponsibly, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, anestimated 18 million people had misused such medications at least oncein 2016. The reasons for the high prevalence of prescription drug misusevary by age, gender, and other factors, but likely include the absenceof a widespread practice to remove unused controlled substances from alegitimately prescribed user. Too often, the legitimately prescribeduser ends up with leftover medication that is ultimately misused, forexample by the legitimately prescribed user himself, or a friend,relative, thief, or other.

SUMMARY

Some embodiments of the present disclosure provide for associating unitsof medication with a therapeutic use of the medication by an individual.A method for associating units of medication with a therapeutic use ofthe medication by an individual can include identifying prescriptioninformation associated with an individual and a prescription for aplurality of units of medication; determining a therapeutic use date tobe added to each of the plurality of units of the medication based atleast in part on the prescription information; and causing an apparatusto add the therapeutic use date to each of plurality of units of themedication. The therapeutic use date can be different from and laterthan a strict adherence date associated with the prescription. Thetherapeutic use date can be different from and earlier than anexpiration date of the plurality of units of the medication.

The method of the preceding paragraph may also include any combinationof the following steps or features described in this paragraph, amongother steps of features described herein. The therapeutic use date cancorrespond to a date after which consumption of any of the plurality ofunits of the medication will have no legitimate therapeutic value to theindividual. The therapeutic use date can correspond to a date afterwhich the amount of therapeutic value provided to the individual whenconsuming any of the plurality of units of the medication does notsatisfy a threshold therapeutic value. The therapeutic use date cancorrespond to a date by which the individual should no longer be inpossession of any of the plurality of units of the medication. Thetherapeutic use date can correspond to a date after which the individualshould dispose of any unused ones of the plurality units of themedication. The therapeutic use date can correspond to a date afterwhich the individual return any unused ones of the plurality units ofthe medication to a medication-return facility.

The method of any of the preceding paragraphs may also include anycombination of the following steps or features described in thisparagraph, among other steps of features described herein. Themedication can be at least one of a prescription opioid, central nervoussystem depressant, or stimulant. The prescription information caninclude at least a number units of the medication in the prescriptionand a dosing schedule associated with the prescription. The dosingschedule can indicate an amount of time between doses of the medication.Said determining the therapeutic use date can include: multiplying thenumber units of the medication in the prescription by the amount of timebetween doses of the medication to determine a minimum amount of timethe prescription can be completed according to the dosing schedule;selecting a base multiple based at least in part on the prescriptioninformation; and multiplying the base multiplier by the minimum amountof time the prescription can be completed according to the dosingschedule.

The method of any of the preceding paragraphs may also include anycombination of the following steps or features described in thisparagraph, among other steps of features described herein. Thetherapeutic use date can be extrapolated based at least in part on adate of the prescription and said multiplying the base multiplier by theminimum amount of time the prescription can be completed according tothe dosing schedule. The base multiplier can be an individual-specificbase multiplier. The base multiplier can be based at least in part on ahistorical use of the medication by the individual. The strict adherencedate can correspond to a minimum amount of time the prescription can becompleted according to the dosing schedule. Each of the plurality ofunits of the medication can include at least one of a pill, tablet, orcapsule. The expiration date can be based at least in part on at leastone of a chemical efficacy of the prescribed medication.

Some embodiments of the present disclosure provide a system forassociating units of medication with a therapeutic use of the medicationby an individual. The system can include one or more processors. The oneor more processors can be configured to identify prescriptioninformation associated with an individual and a prescription for aplurality of units of medication. The one or more processors can befurther configured to determine therapeutic use date to be added to eachof the plurality of units of the medication based at least in part onthe prescription information. The therapeutic use date can be differentfrom and later than a strict adherence date associated with theprescription. The therapeutic use date can be different from and earlierthan an expiration date of the plurality of units of the medication. Theone or more processors can be further configured to cause an apparatusto add the therapeutic use date to each of plurality of units of themedication.

The system of the preceding paragraph may also include any combinationof the following features described in this paragraph, among otherfeatures described herein. The therapeutic use date can correspond to adate after which consumption of any of the plurality of units of themedication will have no legitimate therapeutic value to the individual.The therapeutic use date can correspond to a date by which theindividual should no longer be in possession of any of the plurality ofunits of the medication. To determine the therapeutic use date, the oneor more processors can be further configured to: multiply a number unitsof the medication in the prescription by an amount of time between dosesof the medication to determine a minimum amount of time the prescriptioncan be completed according to a dosing schedule; select a base multiplebased at least in part on the prescription information; and multiply thebase multiplier by the minimum amount of time the prescription can becompleted according to the dosing schedule. The base multiplier can bean individual-specific base multiplier. The base multiplier can be basedat least in part on a historical use of the medication by theindividual. The strict adherence date can correspond to a minimum amountof time the prescription can be completed according to the dosingschedule.

Details of one or more implementations of the subject matter describedin this specification are set forth in the accompanying drawings and thedescription below. Other features, aspects, and advantages will becomeapparent from the description, the drawings, and the claims. Neitherthis summary nor the following detailed description purports to defineor limit the scope of the inventive subject matter.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an example of an environment forassociating individual units of medication with a therapeutic use of themedication by an individual.

FIG. 2 is a flow diagram illustrative of an embodiment of a routine fordetermining a therapeutic use date for a medication prescribed to anindividual.

FIG. 3 illustrates example units of medication that have been markedwith an indication of a therapeutic use date.

Throughout the drawings, reference numbers may be re-used to indicatecorrespondence between referenced elements. The drawings are provided toillustrate example embodiments described herein and are not intended tolimit the scope of the disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Despite the prescription drug epidemic, legitimately prescribed usersare regularly prescribed more medication than they actually use. In somecases, the leftover medication is a result of overprescribing—where aprovider prescribes an excessive amount of the medication to anindividual. In other cases, the legitimately prescribed users fail tofinish the prescription, for example by failing to take the full dailydose or otherwise failing to finish all of the pills that areprescribed. Too often, when a legitimately prescribed user improves, hestops taking his prescription medication. In such cases, the excessprescription medications can end up in a medicine cabinet, in hands offriends or family members, or sold, for example, because of themedication's high resale value in a sea of seemingly endless customers.

To date, there is no effective, widespread practice to remove unusedcontrolled substances from the end-user. Furthermore, there is nopractice in place for holding an individual accountable for thewhereabouts of his own prescription medications. These shortcomings areenhanced, at least in part, by that fact that once a pill leaves itsmedical container, a visual inspection of the pill does not provideinformation as to whom the pill was prescribed, the date the pill wasprescribed, or its medication contents. Thus, if the medical containeris emptied and lost or otherwise discarded, unused pills areunidentifiable, particularly if the pill lacks any brand nameidentification.

Due to the above and other shortcomings, there is a general need forimproved techniques and technologies for removing unused controlledsubstances from the end-user. Systems and methods are described hereinfor determining a therapeutic use date of the medication and adding anindication of the therapeutic use date to each unit of medication.Although various aspects of the disclosure will be described with regardto examples and embodiments, one skilled in the art will appreciate thatthe disclosed embodiments and examples should not be construed aslimiting.

In the present disclosure, reference is made to medication. As usedherein, the term “medication” is used broadly to refer to any drug thatis distributed from a pharmacy or otherwise used in the medicaltreatment of an individual. By way of non-limiting example, a medicationcan include a drug prescribed by a provider that is intended for use todiagnose, cure, treat, or prevent disease, pain, ailments, illness,symptoms, or the like. In some cases, a medication is a pharmaceuticaldrug that legally requires a medical prescription to be dispensed, suchas a prescription opioid. Medication can come in many forms, such as,but is not limited to, liquids, tablets, capsules, topical medicines,suppositories, drops, inhalers, implants, or patches.

In some cases, the term “medication” is used broadly to refer to acontrolled substance, or any one or more schedules of controlledsubstances. For example, in some cases, a medication can include aSchedule II or Schedule IIN narcotic such as, but not limited to,hydromorphone (Dilaudid), methadone (Dolophine), meperidine (Demerol),oxycodone (OxyContin, Percocet), fentanyl (Sublimaze, Duragesic),morphine, opium, codeine, amphetamine (Dexedrine, Adderall),methamphetamine (Desoxyn), methylphenidate (Ritalin), amobarbital,glutethimide, or pentobarbital. In some cases, a medication can includea Schedule III narcotic such as, but not limited to, combinationproducts containing less than 15 milligrams of hydrocodone per dosageunit (Vicodin), products containing not more than 90 milligrams ofcodeine per dosage unit (Tylenol with Codeine), or buprenorphine(Suboxone). In some cases, a medication can include a Schedule IIINnon-narcotic such as, but not limited to, benzphetamine (Didrex),phendimetrazine, ketamine, and anabolic steroids such asDepo-Testosterone. In some cases, a medication can include a Schedule IVsubstance such as, but not limited to, alprazolam (Xanax), carisoprodol(Soma), clonazepam (Klonopin), clorazepate (Tranxene), diazepam(Valium), lorazepam (Ativan), midazolam (Versed), temazepam (Restoril),and triazolam (Halcion). In some cases, a medication can include aSchedule V substance such as, but not limited to, cough preparationscontaining not more than 200 milligrams of codeine per 100 millilitersor per 100 grams (Robitussin AC, Phenergan with Codeine), and ezogabine.In some cases, a medication can include a Schedule I substance such as,but not limited to, heroin, lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), marijuana(cannabis), peyote, methaqualone, or 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine(“Ecstasy”).

Throughout this disclosure, examples include medications described inthe form of units. In the present disclosure, reference to the term“unit” is not to be construed as limiting and should to refer to anyportion of a medication. By way of non-limiting example, a unit ofmedication can include a single dose or multiple doses of themedication. As another non-limiting example, the term “unit” ofmedication can include an individual pill, tablet, or capsule of themedication.

The term “prescription” is used broadly herein to refer to anyinstruction written, or electrically entered, by a medical practitionerthat authorizes an individual to be provided a medication. Aprescription can refer to any order, list, label, etc., that includesone or more units of medication. In some cases, a doctor or otherhealthcare professional can generate the prescription. As one example, aprescription can be a list of medications to be dispensed to and takenby an individual. In some instances, the prescription can specify aparticular dose of the medication to be taken by the individual. In somecases, the prescription can specify particular dosing schedules,including, for example, when, how, or how frequently to take themedication. In some cases, the prescription can provide an indication ofa name or other information corresponding to the individual for whom theprescription was written.

The term “expiration date” is used herein to refer to a date after whichthe medication might not be suitable for use as manufactured. Forpurposes of this disclosure, an expiration date is not necessarily anindication of when the medication will become ineffective or unsafe touse. Rather, in some cases, the expiration date corresponds to amanufacturer's promise for a time until which the medication will havefull efficacy and be safe as manufactured. In some cases, the expirationdate corresponds to a date estimated using stability testing under goodmanufacturing practices as determined by the Food and DrugAdministration.

The term “strict adherence date” is used herein to refer to a date afterwhich an individual's supply of the medication will be exhausted if theindividual strictly adhered to a dosing schedule indicated by a medicalprofession, such as one indicated in the prescription. For example, ifan individual is prescribed 20 units of a medication, one unit to betaken per day, then the strict adherence date can correspond to 20 daysafter the medication is dispensed to the individual because the dosingschedule is one unit per day for 20 days.

The term “therapeutic use date” is used herein to refer to a date afterwhich consumption of the medication by the individual will have littleto no legitimate therapeutic value to the individual. In other words,the therapeutic use date is based on anticipated resolution of theindividual condition for which the prescription was written. In general,the therapeutic use date is different from strict adherence date. Forinstance, an individual may be prescribed 20 units of a medication, oneunit to be taken per day. However, after 20 days, the individual mayhave mistakenly (for example, the individual forgot) or intentionally(for example, the individual was feeling better that day) missed one ormore days, such that at the time of the strict adherence date, theindividual continues to have some of the units of the medication in hispossession. Even though the strict adherence date has passed, in somecases, taking some or all of these remaining pills after the strictadherence date may continue to provide the individual with a therapeuticvalue. Furthermore, in general, the therapeutic use date is differentfrom, and earlier than, the expiration date. For example, especially ininstances in which the individual takes the medication to alleviate painfrom a surgery or injury, the individual is likely to recover from thecondition for which the prescription was written (thus, leaving littleto no therapeutic value of the medication) prior to the expiration dateof the medication.

The therapeutic use date is generally a date that falls sometime betweenthe strict adherence date and the expiration date, although, in somecases, the therapeutic use date is the same or earlier than the strictadherence date. As described herein, the therapeutic use date can bedetermined electrically via a computing device or manually. In somecases, the therapeutic use date can be individual-specific. For example,the therapeutic use date for a particular medication for a particularindividual can be based at least in part on the type or prescribeddosage of the medication, the reason for the prescription (for example,the condition for which the prescription was written), the individual'smedical history (for example, the length of time the individualpreviously took to recover from the same or a similar condition),medical history of other individuals (for example, the length of timesimilarly situated individuals took to recover from the same or asimilar condition), etc.

As a non-limiting example, in some cases, a prescription is entered orgenerated by a doctor or other healthcare professional using a computingdevice. In some instances, the prescription can be manually created, forexample, handwritten, and later entered into a computerized system.Following entry into the computerized system, the prescription isreleased to be filled, or otherwise prepared. The prescription can befilled either manually, for example, by a pharmacist or other pharmacytechnician, or automatically, for example, by an automated pill pickeror drug carousel. A therapeutic use date can be determined, for example,based at least in part on the individual's condition, the prescribedmedication, a dosing schedule, or the like, and an indication of thetherapeutic use date can be added to each unit of medication to beprovided to the individual. Once the prescription is filled and thetherapeutic use date is added to the units of medication, theprescription can be dispensed or delivered to the individual.

Marking the therapeutic use date individual units of medicationadvantageously improves the likelihood that unused medications will notbe abused. For example, in some cases, the legitimately prescribed usermay be obligated to use, destroy, or return, any medication unit that isunused at the time of the therapeutic use date. Notably, because thetherapeutic use date corresponds to a time in which consumption of themedication by the legitimately prescribed user will have little to nolegitimate therapeutic value to the legitimately prescribed user, thelegitimately prescribed user is able to obtain all or most of thetherapeutic benefits from the prescribed medication. Furthermore, ineffect, the systems and methods herein turn the individual units ofmedication into a time-delineated license in that the legitimatelyprescribed user should use, destroy, or return any remaining units ofmedication on or before the therapeutic use date.

The methods and systems described herein can allow for increasedaccountability of the individual units of medication after thetherapeutic use date. In some instances, the legitimately prescribeduser can be legally required to use, destroy, or return the unused unitsof medication after the expiration of therapeutic use date. For example,in some cases, it can be a criminally punishable offense to possess anyunits of medication after the expiration of the therapeutic use date.Similarly, in some cases, it can be a criminally punishable offense topossess any units of medication in which the therapeutic use date hasbeen removed or altered. In some cases, in addition to an indication ofthe therapeutic use date, each unit of medication can include anindividual identifier. In cases such as these, it can be a criminallypunishable offense for an individual to possess any unit of medicationthat has an individual identifier corresponding to a differentindividual.

In some cases, the units of medication are to allow end-useridentification with a specific prescription encounter, and to allow aprescriber/dispenser to place time delineated information on themedication unit. For example, a marked unit of medication can allow forvisual identification of the individual to which the medication isprescribed or the time of a prescriber/dispenser delineated action tothat individual medication unit. This can ultimately lead to appropriatehandling of unused medication that would otherwise be available formisuse. For example, the individual identification of each medicationunit allows for traceability. If a medication unit is traceable, thenany of the following scenarios are possible: depletion of the medicationin routine legitimate use; securing unused medication for futurelegitimate use; destruction of the medication after need has passed inlegitimate use; legitimate loss of the medication; illicit sale of themedication; or legitimate theft of the medication.

Systems and methods for determining a therapeutic use date or adding thetherapeutic use date to individual units of medication will now bedescribed in greater detail, by way of example, in reference to severalembodiments shown in the figures.

Overview of Example Environment

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an environment 100 fordetermining a therapeutic use date of one or more individual units of amedication or adding the therapeutic use date to one or more individualunits of the medication. In the illustrated embodiment, the environment100 includes an information processing system 102, a medication markingapparatus 104, a patient information system 106, a computing device 110,and a network 108. However, it will be understood that fewer or moredevices can be used as desired.

Any of the foregoing systems or apparatuses of environment 100 maycommunicate via a network 108. Although only one network 108 isillustrated, multiple distinct and/or distributed networks 108 mayexist. The network 108 can include any type of communication network.For example, the network 108 can include one or more of a wide areanetwork (WAN), a local area network (LAN), a cellular network, an ad hocnetwork, a satellite network, a wired network, a wireless network, andso forth. In some embodiments, the network 108 can include the Internet.Furthermore, although illustrated as being in communication via thenetwork 108, in some implementation, two or more of the foregoingsystems or apparatuses may communicate without using the network 108.

In certain embodiments, some or all of the information processing system102, the medication marking apparatus 104, the patient informationsystem 106, or the computing device 110 can form part of a single deviceand communicate via a computer bus. Regardless of the configuration,each separate device can include one or more processors or controllersand a computer-readable medium that stores specific computer-executableinstructions for carrying out the operations described herein.

The information processing system 102 can be configured to determine,retrieve, or identify a therapeutic use date for a unit of medication.For example, in some cases, the information processing system 102 cancommunicate with the patient information system 106 or the computingdevice 110 to retrieve or receive data to be used to determine thetherapeutic use date. In addition or alternatively, data, such asprescription data, can be input into the information processing system102 and the information processing system 102 can use the data todetermine a therapeutic use date.

The information processing system 102 may include hardware and softwarecomponents for controlling the medication marking apparatus. Forexample, the information processing system 102 can communicate, forexample over the network 108, with the medication marking apparatus 104to cause the medication marking apparatus 104 to print, label, engrave,or otherwise mark the corresponding therapeutic use date, or indicationthereof, onto each unit of medication to be dispensed to the individual.In some cases, the medication marking apparatus 104 can add identifiersother than a therapeutic use date identifier. For example, themedication marking apparatus 104 may be controlled to drill, print,label, engrave, press, imprint, or otherwise mark a medicationidentifier, such as a type or brand of the medication, or an individualidentifier, such as an identifier that identifies the individual towhich the medication was prescribed. In some instances, the informationprocessing system 102 generates a file, which is sent to the medicationmarking apparatus 104. The medication marking apparatus 104 drills,prints, labels, engraves, presses, imprints, or otherwise marks theindividual units of medication based on the file. As a non-limitingexample, the medication marking apparatus can include one or morecommercially available medication marking apparatuses, such as, but notlimited to, the “Pill Mini Press Machine Lab Professional Tablet ManualPunching Machine” available from ZONESUN, the “Lab Scale Drilling LaserSystem” available from ScanTech Laser, the “Batch Submission TabletDrilling Laser System” available from ScanTech Laser, the “High SpeedTablet Drilling Laser System” available from ScanTech Laser, the“Softsule Laser Marking Machine” available from ScanTech Laser, or the“High Speed Tablet Marking Laser System” available from ScanTech Laser.

The information processing system 102 may be equipped with networkingequipment and network software applications (for example, a web browser)that facilitate communications via one or more networks (for example,the Internet or an intranet). The information processing system 102 mayhave varied local computing resources such as central processing unitsand architectures, memory, mass storage, graphics processing units,communication network availability and bandwidth, and so forth. Further,the information processing system 102 may include any type of computingsystem. For example, the information processing system 102 may includeany type of computing device(s), such as desktops, laptops, televisionset-top boxes, televisions (for example, Internet TVs), and wirelessmobile devices (for example, smart phones, PDAs, tablets, or the like),to name a few.

The information processing system 102 can be controlled by a user, suchas a pharmacist at a pharmacy in which an individual is picking up aprescribed medication. Thus, in some cases, the information processingsystem 102 is utilized at the point-of-sale of the prescription.

The computing device 110 can be configured to provide data 116 relatingto an individual's prescription or other information to the informationprocessing system 102 or the patient information system 106. Forexample, the computing device 110 may be equipped with networkingequipment and network software applications (for example, a web browser)that facilitate communications via one or more networks (for example,the Internet or an intranet). The computing device 110 may have variedlocal computing resources such as central processing units andarchitectures, memory, mass storage, graphics processing units,communication network availability and bandwidth, and so forth. Further,the computing device 110 may include any type of computing system. Forexample, the computing device 110 may include any type of computingdevice(s), such as desktops, laptops, television set-top boxes,televisions (for example, Internet TVs), and wireless mobile devices(for example, smart phones, PDAs, tablets, or the like), to name a few.

In some cases, the computing device 110 is a computing device used by adoctor or other healthcare professional to enter a prescription. Forexample, the prescription can be entered into the computing device 110and some or all of the prescription data, or other data, can be providedto the information processing system 102 or the patient informationsystem 106.

In some cases, the patient information system 106 can include a patientdata database 114, such as a physician drug monitoring program database(PDMP). For example, the patient information system 106 can includecertain demographics such as first name, last name, date of birth, age,weight, sex, or geographic region. In some cases, the patientinformation system 106 can include an identified individual and theirhistory of medication use or medication abuse. For instance, data canincludes who prescribed the medications, as well as type, volume, andduration of medication. In addition or alternatively, patient datadatabase 114 can include the reason the individual was prescribed themedication, as well as the prescription data regarding the individual'smedication, a length of time the individual took the medication, howlong it took the individual to recover from the condition, etc.

In some cases, the prescription data 116 can be entered into theenvironment 100, for example via the computing device 100, theinformation processing system 105, or the patient information system106. The prescription data can include, but is not limited to, aidentifier of the prescribing practitioner (for example, a name, thepractitioner's federal Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA)registration number, the practitioner's National Provider Identification(NPI) or other appropriate identifier), an individual identifier (forexample, a name, address, telephone number, or date of birth) of theperson for whom the prescription was written, a medication identifier(for example, a name, a national drug code, a quantity, or a strength ofthe medication), the date of the prescription, the date the prescriptionwas filled, the method of payment, the full name from which themedication was dispensed, the federal Drug Enforcement Administrationregistration number from which the medication was dispensed, the addressof the pharmacy or other location from which the medication wasdispensed, the name of the dispensing pharmacy, the name of thedispensing practitioner, other than a pharmacist, the dispensingpharmacy or practitioner National Provider Identification number, anyportion of other appropriate identifying information as determined bydepartment rule, drug class, etc. In some cases, the prescription data116 can include any data in the patient information system 106.

Flow Diagrams

FIG. 2 is a flow diagram illustrative of an embodiment of a routine 200for determining a therapeutic use date for a medication prescribed to anindividual. One skilled in the relevant art will appreciate that theelements outlined for routine 200 can be implemented by one or morecomputing devices that are associated with the environment 100, such asthe information processing system 102. Although any number of systems,in whole or in part, can implement the process 200, to simplifydiscussion, the routine 200 will be described as being generallyperformed by the information processing system 102. However, thefollowing illustrative embodiment should not be construed as limiting.

At block 202, the information processing system 102 identifies orobtains information associated with an individual's prescription. Forexample, as described herein, the information processing system 102 cancommunicate with a computing device or a patient information system 106to obtain the information associated with the individual's prescription.In addition or alternatively, the information associated with theindividual's prescription can be input into the information processingsystem 102, for example by a pharmacist at the pharmacy at which theindividual is filling the prescription.

The information that the information processing system 102 identifies orobtains at block 202 can vary across embodiments. For example, in somecases, the information can include data that the information processingsystem 102 can utilize to calculate or determine a therapeutic use datefor the medication associated with the individual's prescription.

As an example, the information can include a prescribed dose, which canindicate the amount of the medication to be taken by the individual atany one time. The prescribed dose can be can be expressed as a weight ofmedication (for example, 250 mg), volume of medication (for example, 10mL, 2 drops), the number of dosage forms (for example, 1 capsule, 1suppository) or some other quantity (for example, 2 puffs).

As another example, the information can include a prescribed dosageregimen, which can include the frequency at which the medication dosesare intended to be taken by the individual. Examples include 2.5 mLtwice a day, one tablet three times a day, one injection every fourweeks. In some cases, the information can include a total daily dose,which can be calculated from the prescribed dose and the dosage regimen.

As another example, the information can include individual information.For instance, the individual information can include height, sex,weight, age, or other an individual identifier that identifies theindividual or one or more characteristics of the individual. In somecases, individual information can include information regarding theindividual's condition, such as the disease, pain, ailments, illness,symptoms, injury, or surgery that relates to the reason for theprescription, or a projected recovery time associated with theindividual's condition. In some cases, the projected recovery time canbe based at least in part on a previous recovery time by the individualfor the same or a similar condition or a previous recovery time by oneor more other similar situated individuals (for example, age, sex,height, weight, or the like) for the same or a similar condition.

As another example, the information can include one or more dates, suchas an expiration date of the medication or a strict adherence dateassociated with the individual's prescription.

At block 204, the information processing system 102 determines atherapeutic use date for the prescribed medication based at least inpart on the information that the information processing system 102identified or obtained at block 202. As described herein, thetherapeutic use date refers to a date or time after which consumption ofthe medication by the individual will have little to no legitimatetherapeutic value to the individual. Thus, the therapeutic use dateserves as a reminder of the date by which the individual should nolonger possess the medication, or at least of the date after which theindividual should consume, dispose or, or return the medication.

The information processing system 102 can determine the therapeutic usedate for a particular unit of medication using one or more of varioustechniques. For example, in some cases, the therapeutic use date can bedetermined by adding a particular amount of days to strict adherencedate, which can act as a buffer to the strict adherence date to allowthe individual additional time to finish the prescription in case theindividual misses doses. The additional amount of time that is added tothe strict adherence date can vary across embodiments. For example, theadditional amount of time can be a set period of time, such as one, two,three, four, five, or six days, weeks, months, or years. As anotherexample, the additional amount of time can be a function related to thestrict adherence date. For example, the period between the date of theprescription and the strict adherence date can be referred to as thestrict adherence period. In some cases, the additional amount of timecan be a multiplier of the strict adherence period. For example, theadditional amount of time can correspond to 0.1, 0.2, 0.25, 0.5, 0.8, 1,2, 2.5, or 3 times the number of days or hours of the strict adherenceperiod.

As another example, in some cases, the therapeutic use date can be basedat least in part on a past patient data related to the individual, orcomparable patient data related to one or more other individuals. Forexample, assume the individual is having a knee replacement surgery onhis left knee, after having previously has a knee replacement surgery onhis right knee. In some cases, the information determined by theinformation processing system 102 at step 202 includes an amount of time(for example, an estimated or exact amount of time) that the individualtook medication for the first knee replacement surgery. For instance,the information processing system 102 can determine an expected datethat the individual will no longer need, use, or want to take medicationbased on the first knee replacement surgery, and the therapeutic usedate can correspond to that expected date. Similarly, the informationprocessing system 102 can use comparable patient data from otherindividuals to estimate an expected date that the individual will nolonger need, use, or want to take medication, and the therapeutic usedate can correspond to that estimated date.

As another example, the therapeutic use date can be based at least inpart on the prescribed medication. For example, each medication may bepart of a particular drug class. In some cases, the therapeutic use dateis based at least in part on the drug class of the prescribed medicationand/or the volume or dose of the prescription.

As another example, the therapeutic use date can be based at least inpart on the condition for which the medication is prescribed. Forinstance, chronic pain management individuals may be assigned a latertherapeutic use date than those individuals that suffer from acute pain,because it can be assumed that the medication will have a longerlegitimate therapeutic use for the individual with chronic pain than theindividual with acute pain.

At block 206, the information processing system 102 controls themedication marking apparatus to add the therapeutic use date, or anindication thereof, to each of the units of medication before the unitsof medication are dispenses to the individual. For example, theinformation processing system 102 can communicate, for example over thenetwork 108, with the medication marking apparatus 104 to cause themedication marking apparatus 104 to drill, print, label, engrave, press,imprint, or otherwise mark the corresponding therapeutic use date, orindication thereof, onto each unit of medication to be dispensed to theindividual.

It will be understood that some or all of the various blocks describedherein with reference to FIG. 2 can be implemented concurrently or havethe order changed as desired. Furthermore, it will be understood thatfewer, more, or different blocks can be used as part of the routine 200.For example, in some embodiments, the medication marking apparatus 104can be controlled to add identifiers in addition to, or in place of, atherapeutic use date identifier, such as an individual identifier thatidentifies the individual to which the medication was prescribed.

NON-LIMITING EXAMPLES

FIG. 3 illustrates example units of medication that have been markedwith an indication of a therapeutic use date. As illustrated by the fourunits of medications 302, 304, 306, and 308 displayed in FIG. 3, theunits of medication can be various shapes, sizes, materials, etc.Furthermore, FIG. 3 demonstrates that the units of medication can bemarked using various techniques, such drilling, printing, labeling,engraving, pressing, imprinting, or otherwise marking. In addition, FIG.3 demonstrates that the indication of the therapeutic use date can beadded to the units of medication using different date formats. Forexample, unit 302 illustrates a Day-Month-Year format, unit 304illustrates a Month-Year format, unit 306 illustrates a Year-Month-Dayformat, and unit 308 illustrates a Month-Year format. However, it willbe understood that various date formats can be utilized, as well asvarious shapes and sizes. Furthermore, it will be understood thatadditional or different data can be added to a unit of medication, suchas an identifier corresponding to the individual to which the medicationwas prescribed.

As a first non-limiting example, the environment 100 can be used todetermine a therapeutic use date associated with an individual'sprescription and then add that therapeutic use date to the units ofmedication corresponding to a prescription received by an individualfrom a physician. For example, the individual visits a healthcareprofessional, for example because of a condition of the individual, andthe healthcare professional writes the individual a prescription byentering prescription data 116 into a computing device 110, such as thehealthcare professional's laptop computer. In this example, theprescription is for 20 doses of a narcotic medication to be taken every4-6 hours as needed for pain.

Following entry into the computerized system, the prescription orprescription data 116 is released, for example to the patientinformation system 114 or the information processing system 102. Apharmacist or other pharmacy technician retrieves the prescription data116 and/or other information associated with the individual'sprescription. For example, the pharmacist or other pharmacy techniciancan utilize the information processing system 102 to query the patientinformation system 106 for at least some of the prescription data 116and/or other information associated with the individual's prescription.The prescription is filled or otherwise prepared. For example, theprescription can be filled either manually (non-limiting examples: bythe pharmacist or other pharmacy technician) or automatically(non-limiting examples: by an automated pill picker or drug carousel).

In addition, the information processing system 102 determines atherapeutic use date using at least some of the prescription data 116and/or other information associated with the individual's prescription.For example, based on the number of prescribed doses (in this case, 20)and the minimum time between doses (in this case, 4 hours), theinformation processing system 102 determines that the minimum amount oftime to safely complete the prescription is 80 hours (for example,taking one dose every 4 hours). The information processing system 102then determines the therapeutic use date by extending the minimum amountof time to safely complete the prescription (i.e., 80 hours) by a basemultiplier (for example, 2, 4, 5, 8, 10, 15, 20). The base multipliercan be selected based at least in part on patient data (for example,age, sex, diagnosis code, weight, BMI, etc.).

In this example, a base multiplier of 8 is selected. Thus, to determinethe therapeutic use date, the information processing system 102multiplies the selected base multiplier (i.e., 8) by the minimum amountof time to safely complete the prescription (i.e., 80 hours) tocalculate a number of hours (in this case, 640) between the prescriptiondate and the therapeutic use date. The information processing system 102divides the result by 24 to determine the number of days (in this case,26.6) between the prescription date and the therapeutic use date.Assuming the date that the prescription is being filled is Jun. 1, 2019,the information processing system 102 can use the result of itscalculations to determine the therapeutic use date of Jun. 27, 2019 (forexample, June 1 plus 26.6 days).

After determining the therapeutic use date, the information processingsystem 102 controls the medication marking apparatus 104 to add anindication of the therapeutic use date to each units of medication beingprovided to the individual as part of the prescription. For example, inthis case, the prescription corresponds to 20 individual tablets. Thus,the information processing system 102 can control the medication markingapparatus to add the indication of the therapeutic use date to each ofthe 20 tablets. Once the prescription is filled and the individual unitsof medication marked, the prescription can be dispensed or delivered tothe individual.

As a second non-limiting example, a healthcare professional handwritesor prints a prescription for the individual and provides theprescription to the individual. The individual presents the prescriptionto a pharmacist or other pharmacy technician, and the pharmacist orother pharmacy technician enters prescription data 116 into theinformation processing system 102, such as a pharmacy computer. In thisexample, the prescription corresponds to 40 tablets, every 4-6 hours asneeded, for a hip replacement on a 60 year old female patient.

The information processing system 102 determines a therapeutic use dateusing at least some of the prescription data 116 and/or otherinformation associated with the individual's prescription. For example,based at least in part on the individual's age (i.e., 60), sex (i.e.,female), or condition (i.e., recovering from hip surgery), theinformation processing system 102 can determine therapeutic use datebased on how long similarly situated individuals took to recover. Inthis example, the information processing system 102 queries the patientinformation system 106 for information on similarly situationindividuals and determines that 55-65 year old females patient with ahip replacement generally utilize only 13 tablets, and generally onlytake tablets for a period of 6 days. Based on this information, theinformation processing system 102 determines the therapeutic use datebased on a base multiplier of the average period (in some cases, 6 days)of similarly situated individuals. For example, the base multiplier canbe selected to be 1.5. Thus, to determine the therapeutic use date, theinformation processing system 102 multiplies the selected basemultiplier (i.e., 1.5) by the average period of time (i.e., 6 days) thatsimilarly situated individuals take the medication to calculate a numberof days (in this case, 9) between the prescription date and thetherapeutic use date. Assuming the date that the prescription is beingfilled is Aug. 6, 2019, the information processing system 102 can usethe result of its calculations to determine the therapeutic use date ofAug. 15, 2019.

Other Variations

Features, materials, characteristics, or groups described in conjunctionwith a particular aspect, embodiment, or example are to be understood tobe applicable to any other aspect, embodiment or example describedherein unless incompatible therewith. All of the features disclosed inthis specification (including any accompanying claims, abstract anddrawings), or all of the steps of any method or process so disclosed,may be combined in any combination, except combinations where at leastsome of such features or steps are mutually exclusive. The protection isnot restricted to the details of any foregoing embodiments. Theprotection extends to any novel one, or any novel combination, of thefeatures disclosed in this specification (including any accompanyingclaims, abstract and drawings), or to any novel one, or any novelcombination, of the steps of any method or process so disclosed.

While certain embodiments have been described, these embodiments havebeen presented by way of example only, and are not intended to limit thescope of protection. Indeed, the novel methods and systems describedherein may be embodied in a variety of other forms. Furthermore, variousomissions, substitutions and changes in the form of the methods andsystems described herein may be made. Those skilled in the art willappreciate that in some embodiments, the actual steps taken in theprocesses illustrated or disclosed may differ from those shown in thefigures. Depending on the embodiment, certain of the steps describedabove may be removed, others may be added. For example, the actual stepsor order of steps taken in the disclosed processes may differ from thoseshown in the figure. Depending on the embodiment, certain of the stepsdescribed above may be removed, others may be added. For instance, thevarious components illustrated in the figures may be implemented assoftware or firmware on a processor, controller, ASIC, FPGA, ordedicated hardware. Hardware components, such as controllers,processors, ASICs, FPGAs, and the like, can include logic circuitry.Furthermore, the features and attributes of the specific embodimentsdisclosed above may be combined in different ways to form additionalembodiments, all of which fall within the scope of the presentdisclosure.

Although the present disclosure includes certain embodiments, examplesand applications, it will be understood by those skilled in the art thatthe present disclosure extends beyond the specifically disclosedembodiments to other alternative embodiments or uses and obviousmodifications and equivalents thereof, including embodiments which donot provide all of the features and advantages set forth herein.Accordingly, the scope of the present disclosure is not intended to belimited by the specific disclosures of preferred embodiments herein, andmay be defined by claims as presented herein or as presented in thefuture.

Any value of a threshold, limit, duration, etc. provided herein is notintended to be absolute and, thereby, can be approximate. In addition,any threshold, limit, duration, etc. provided herein can be fixed orvaried either automatically or by a user. Furthermore, as is used hereinrelative terminology such as exceeds, greater than, less than, etc. inrelation to a reference value is intended to also encompass being equalto the reference value. For example, exceeding a reference value that ispositive can encompass being equal to or greater than the referencevalue. In addition, as is used herein relative terminology such asexceeds, greater than, less than, etc. in relation to a reference valueis intended to also encompass an inverse of the disclosed relationship,such as below, less than, greater than, etc. in relations to thereference value. Moreover, although blocks of the various processes maybe described in terms of determining whether a value meets or does notmeet a particular threshold, the blocks can be similarly understood, forexample, in terms of a value (i) being below or above a threshold or(ii) satisfying or not satisfying a threshold.

Conditional language, such as “can,” “could,” “might,” or “may,” unlessspecifically stated otherwise, or otherwise understood within thecontext as used, is generally intended to convey that certainembodiments include, while other embodiments do not include, certainfeatures, elements, or steps. Thus, such conditional language is notgenerally intended to imply that features, elements, or steps are in anyway required for one or more embodiments or that one or more embodimentsnecessarily include logic for deciding, with or without user input orprompting, whether these features, elements, or steps are included orare to be performed in any particular embodiment. The terms“comprising,” “including,” “having,” and the like are synonymous and areused inclusively, in an open-ended fashion, and do not excludeadditional elements, features, acts, operations, and so forth. Also, theterm “or” is used in its inclusive sense (and not in its exclusivesense) so that when used, for example, to connect a list of elements,the term “or” means one, some, or all of the elements in the list.Further, the term “each,” as used herein, in addition to having itsordinary meaning, can mean any subset of a set of elements to which theterm “each” is applied.

Conjunctive language such as the phrase “at least one of X, Y, and Z,”unless specifically stated otherwise, is otherwise understood with thecontext as used in general to convey that an item, term, etc. may beeither X, Y, or Z. Thus, such conjunctive language is not generallyintended to imply that certain embodiments require the presence of atleast one of X, at least one of Y, and at least one of Z.

Language of degree used herein, such as the terms “approximately,”“about,” “generally,” and “substantially” as used herein represent avalue, amount, or characteristic close to the stated value, amount, orcharacteristic that still performs a desired function or achieves adesired result. For example, the terms “approximately”, “about”,“generally,” and “substantially” may refer to an amount that is withinless than 10% of, within less than 5% of, within less than 1% of, withinless than 0.1% of, and within less than 0.01% of the stated amount.

The scope of the present disclosure is not intended to be limited by thespecific disclosures of preferred embodiments in this section orelsewhere in this specification, and may be defined by claims aspresented in this section or elsewhere in this specification or aspresented in the future. The language of the claims is to be interpretedbroadly based on the language employed in the claims and not limited tothe examples described in the present specification or during theprosecution of the application, which examples are to be construed asnon-exclusive.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for associating units of medication witha therapeutic use of the medication by an individual, the methodcomprising: identifying prescription information associated with anindividual and a prescription for a plurality of units of medication;determining a therapeutic use date to be added to each of the pluralityof units of the medication based at least in part on the prescriptioninformation, wherein the therapeutic use date is different from andlater than a strict adherence date associated with the prescription,wherein the therapeutic use date is different from and earlier than anexpiration date of the plurality of units of the medication; and causingan apparatus to add the therapeutic use date to each of plurality ofunits of the medication.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein thetherapeutic use date corresponds to a date after which consumption ofany of the plurality of units of the medication will have no legitimatetherapeutic value to the individual.
 3. The method of claim 1, whereinthe therapeutic use date corresponds to a date after which the amount oftherapeutic value provided to the individual when consuming any of theplurality of units of the medication does not satisfy a thresholdtherapeutic value.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein the therapeutic usedate corresponds to a date by which the individual should no longer bein possession of any of the plurality of units of the medication.
 5. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the therapeutic use date corresponds to adate after which the individual should dispose of any unused ones of theplurality units of the medication.
 6. The method of claim 1, wherein thetherapeutic use date corresponds to a date after which the individualreturn any unused ones of the plurality units of the medication to amedication-return facility.
 7. The method of claim 1, wherein themedication is at least one of a prescription opioid, central nervoussystem depressant, or stimulant.
 8. The method of claim 1, wherein theprescription information comprises at least a number units of themedication in the prescription and a dosing schedule associated with theprescription, wherein the dosing schedule indicates an amount of timebetween doses of the medication.
 9. The method of claim 8, wherein saiddetermining the therapeutic use date comprises: multiplying the numberunits of the medication in the prescription by the amount of timebetween doses of the medication to determine a minimum amount of timethe prescription can be completed according to the dosing schedule;selecting a base multiple based at least in part on the prescriptioninformation; and multiplying the base multiplier by the minimum amountof time the prescription can be completed according to the dosingschedule.
 10. The method of claim 9, wherein the therapeutic use date isextrapolated based at least in part on a date of the prescription andsaid multiplying the base multiplier by the minimum amount of time theprescription can be completed according to the dosing schedule.
 11. Themethod of claim 9, wherein the base multiplier is an individual-specificbase multiplier, the base multiplier being based at least in part on ahistorical use of the medication by the individual.
 12. The method ofclaim 9, wherein the strict adherence date corresponds to a minimumamount of time the prescription can be completed according to the dosingschedule.
 13. The method of claim 1, wherein each of the plurality ofunits of the medication comprises at least one of a pill, tablet, orcapsule.
 14. The method of claim 1, wherein the expiration date is basedat least in part on at least one of a chemical efficacy of theprescribed medication.
 15. A system for associating units of medicationwith a therapeutic use of the medication by an individual, the systemcomprising: one or more processors configured to: identify prescriptioninformation associated with an individual and a prescription for aplurality of units of medication; determine therapeutic use date to beadded to each of the plurality of units of the medication based at leastin part on the prescription information, wherein the therapeutic usedate is different from and later than a strict adherence date associatedwith the prescription, wherein the therapeutic use date is differentfrom and earlier than an expiration date of the plurality of units ofthe medication; and cause an apparatus to add the therapeutic use dateto each of plurality of units of the medication.
 16. The system of claim15, wherein the therapeutic use date corresponds to a date after whichconsumption of any of the plurality of units of the medication will haveno legitimate therapeutic value to the individual.
 17. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the therapeutic use date corresponds to a date by whichthe individual should no longer be in possession of any of the pluralityof units of the medication.
 18. The system of claim 15, wherein todetermine the therapeutic use date the one or more processors arefurther configured to: multiply a number units of the medication in theprescription by an amount of time between doses of the medication todetermine a minimum amount of time the prescription can be completedaccording to a dosing schedule; select a base multiple based at least inpart on the prescription information; and multiply the base multiplierby the minimum amount of time the prescription can be completedaccording to the dosing schedule.
 19. The system of claim 18, whereinthe base multiplier is an individual-specific base multiplier, the basemultiplier being based at least in part on a historical use of themedication by the individual.
 20. The system of claim 15, wherein thestrict adherence date corresponds to a minimum amount of time theprescription can be completed according to the dosing schedule.